Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Chris Hubbard made his first career start Sunday in the team’s home win over the New York Jets and on the surface it appears as though the former undrafted free agent out of the University of Alabama-Birmingham represented himself well.
According to the early grading by Pro Football Focus, Hubbard was the Steelers highest graded offensive lineman in their win over the Jets.
Hubbard was forced into the starting lineup Sunday due to starting right tackle Marcus Gilbert missing the game against the Jets with an ankle injury and his backup, Ryan Harris, needing to be placed on the Injured/Reserve Saturday due to a leg hematoma that he suffered last Sunday night.
While Steelers starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was sacked once Sunday against the Jets, that was mainly a result of him holding the football for an extended amount of time. As a whole, the Steelers offensive line protected Roethlisberger fairly well throughout the game and the quarterback threw for 380 yards and 4 touchdowns as a result.
Hubbard appeared to be comfortable at right tackle in his first start and depending on the health of Gilbert this coming week, he might be asked to start again in Week 6 when the Steelers go on the road to play the Miami Dolphins.
Up until Sunday, Hubbard had only played sparingly since entering the league in 2013. Most of his snaps have come as an extra tight end the last few seasons. Hubbard had played all of 40 snaps on offense during his career entering Sunday’s game.
We will have a full breakdown of Hubbard’s first career start later on in the week so stay tuned for that.
